By BRENT STUBBS

Chief Sports Editor

bstubbs@tribunemedia.net

OLYMPIAN Charisma Taylor knows if there’s one thing she’s always been assured of, it’s the love and affection from her family since she started competing in various sports from the age of seven.

On her return home from her debut at the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris, France, Taylor was greeted at the Lynden Pindling International Airport on Saturday by her family members, some of whom made the journey to watch her compete in both the women’s triple jump and the 100 metre hurdles.

Although the Queen’s College graduate missed out on making the finals in both events, Taylor said just knowing that her family was there to support her and now to welcome her home in the manner that they did, she is more than appreciative.

“It was a great surprise. I love my family so much. They always support me in anything I do and everywhere I go. They support me,” said Taylor, who competed collegiately for the University of Tennessee after transferring from Washington State.

“So it was just great to walk out and see my whole family out here with a banner and flowers and balloons and they are here cheering for me. I am so blessed to have a family like this.”

Taylor, 24, said she knows that her family loves her, but it was good for her to come home and feel their warm embrace after such a long season.

“I’m just grateful and very proud of them,” said Taylor, who will be here until Wednesday before she leaves, hopefully to compete in a meet on the international circuit later this week.

It was so coincidental that her flight from Charlotte was delayed and it arrived just in time with a flight from Orlando, Florida tht her mother, Patrice, caught.

As fate would have it, the two walked out together, affording her mother the opportunity to join in the welcome home reception that she would have missed, had it not been for her daughter’s delayed flight.

“It’s so heartwarming because, at the end of the day, family is what matters,” her mother stressed. “Your biggest supporter is your family and when you have the support of your family, you can do great things.

“I know for her, just last week, she said ‘mom, I need to come home. I need to see you all for a bit.’ So to have this kind of welcome is what she needed.”

Although she will only be here for such a short period of time, her mother said they will make the most of it, bonding together in love and unity.

Her father Dewey Taylor said the first thing they did was to ensure that they got the stewed fish that his daughter craved for because she enjoys eating her Bahamian dish.

“I was just happy, especially because she didn’t have a clue. So to see that look upon her face was such a joy,” he said. “We thought she would go right to Europe and try to get in a meet there.

“But it’s a joy to have her back here, knowing that we can celebrate all of the hard work she put in. I’m very happy for her accomplishments.”

Grandmother Helen Stubbs was more thrilled than the parents.

“Everything she does, I am so proud of her,” she stated. “I remember when she started competing as a young girl at seven years old, pushing her way through.

“So to see her excel to the heights of the Olympics, I know she can go further in her performances I’m sure, but at this height, I’m grateful, I’m thankful.”

When she was informed of the homecoming celebrations, she said there was no way that she was going to miss it as she squeezed the hand she held of her granddaughter as they embraced.

At the Olympics, Taylor finished 9th in Group B of the women’s triple jump qualifying round with 14.01m for 15th overall and she was third in her heat of the 100 hurdles in a lifetime best of  12.63 seconds for 12th overall.

Angel Willie, a younger cousin of Taylor, was among the group of family members in Paris for the Olympics. She said she was thrilled by her accomplishments. “It was a surreal experience to watch Charisma compete in her journey and to see her achieve her dream is inspiring,” said Willie, who herself is a former athlete.

“It’s an honour. We are very proud of her, so we just wanted to make sure that the celebrations are still there. We’re still proud of her accomplishments and to let her know that greater is to come.”

Despite not getting into the finals of either event in Paris, Tylor said it was a great Olympic experience that she will cherish for the rest of her career.

“I definitely found out some things about myself that I need to find out,” she said without elaborating. “I think that’s the most important thing.’

“The next time they see me on the track at another (global) meet, it’s going to be a scary site.”

The World Championships in Tokyo, Japan from September 13-21 is the next biggest global event before the trek starts towards her anticipated return to the Olympics in 2028 in Los Angeles, California.